Boeing Manufacturing Takes a Nose Dive for 300 Australian Workers

Boeing, a global titan in aerospace manufacturing, has announced plans to cut around 300 Australian-based manufacturing jobs. According to Bloomberg News, “The jobs will be eliminated by the end of the year, Boeing spokeswoman Caroline Bell said today in an e-mailed statement.” Although Boeing is a U.S.-based company and top exporter, Australia remains Boeing’s second largest manufacturing. The facility provides about 1,300 jobs for the country.This isn’t the only time Boeing has been in the news recently. The Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was a Boeing 777-200 plane. It and the 239 passengers remain missing. In an April 2 press release, Boeing stated:

“Our thoughts and deepest sympathies continue to be with the families and loved ones of those aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Under the international protocols established for aviation accident investigations, Boeing continues to serve as a technical advisor to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, in support of the Malaysian authorities.”

While the two events are not directly related, Boeing did experience a 1.3 percent decline in stock as of March 10; the drop came just days after the airliner went missing.

The Australian job cuts, however, were apparently planned long before the Malaysian airliner incident. In a statement to Market Watch, Boeing said, “[the jobs cuts were] always our intention when the company’s aircraft programs stabilized at full production rates.”

The impending job loss is a blow for the Australian economy and its push for job creation. While there are signs of improvement, data suggest the country is just squeaking by in terms of its manufacturing operations.

“The group’s performance of manufacturing index fell 0.7 points to 47.9 in March, remaining below the 50-mark that indicates activity in the sector is in contraction,” Guardian reports. It’s too soon to tell if the imminent cuts will impact the index further.